Why Small Businesses Matter
Shop small, do big things for your community
Why Small Businesses Matter puts a spotlight on the local merchants who donate their time, talent, goods, and services for the betterment of our community. The shop local movement spreads virally as local businesses who are “tagged” have the opportunity to share their story!
Meet Melissa Mack, contemporary artist.
Why did you start your business?
Melissa Mack is a contemporary artist who lives and works in Fairfield, CT. Born and raised in NYC and Westport, she grew up surrounded by art and culture from the Metropolitan Museum of Art to Studio 54 and The Limelight. She started her business to share her love of aesthetics and bring her art to residences and commercial spaces.
Melissa's mixed media works capture the beauty of natural elements and their inherent energy. She studies natural forms, especially crystals, plants, water, and space to express the energy, movement, flow of these forms and the life force they exude. She depicts the concrete world in an abstract form and is intrigued by what lies beyond our sight. In each piece, Melissa captures vibrant positive energy and adds crushed quartz crystals into the paint to bring positive energy into each work.
Some pieces are ethereal and some vibrant. But all are based on healing energy because energy is the universal force that connects us all. She now integrates her lifelong learning paths to create balance and harmony through art and design.
What is your best-selling product/service?
Melissa’s best-selling products are her commissioned paintings, where she works one on one with clients to create affordable original art pieces that complement their spaces. Working together, they choose colors and sizes that fit their needs and aesthetics. Her other top sellers are functional art pieces that adorn tables and countertops and are beautiful to look at while also serving as food-safe, cutting friendly surfaces, some with a spinning Lazy Susan base.
They are sealed with an eco-friendly, non-toxic glass-like finish, and customers love that they can leave them out as beautiful artworks all the time, but also have a great platform for entertaining and use for family meals. Nothing better than taking out food night on a gigantic spinning base so everyone can reach what they want. Another best seller is the hand-knotted, hand-painted meditation Mala necklaces used to help aid in meditation practices or worn as beautiful wearable art jewelry.
The business model was reimagined right before the covid lockdown. Melissa’s design studio location moved from a brick-and-mortar retail shop in downtown Westport to an art studio at her Fairfield home in Greenfield Hills and an online website. The past 2 years have been a big learning curve from being fully in-person to now showcasing products through online photography and social media.
The business model is adapting to the change from people being able to interact with art in person to imagine it in their spaces from online images. All is a work in progress. Art is interactive and the hope is to get back to more in-person experiences soon. Consultations are always available in person at the studio or customers' homes or businesses.
Melissa would like to nominate Pelo Hair Salon to be featured next - "A fabulous small business. They are a small business that has taken a major hit during Covid as they provide an in-person service only. They are so accommodating and generous to all. They provide a fully covid safe practice and use more natural, healthy safe products that I seek out and value. The owner Ginger Thanasoulis has been so careful and sensitive to the needs of their clients and has maintained safety as their priority throughout the pandemic. I recommend them highly!"
Visit Melissa Mack’s art and design studio online here, and make sure to check out Melissa's Instagram page as well!
HamletHub thanks Fairfield County Bank for making our Why Small Businesses Matter series possible!